Second-Half Strikes Lift Titans Over 49ers

LONG BEACH, CA -
Sophomore Stacey Fox and junior Christina Murillo each netted second-half goals and sophomore Jordan-Michelle Santos logged her second shutout of the season to lift visiting Cal State Fullerton to a 2-0 victory over Long Beach State on Thursday afternoon at George Allen Field.

The victory snapped a four-match winless streak for the Titans, who improved to 4-8-4 overall on the season and 2-3-1 in Big West Conference play. The win was the first for Fullerton since a 1-0 shutout of UC Riverside on Oct. 4 and the two goals were the most in a match since the Titans defeated Michigan by a 2-0 score on Sept. 11 at Titan Stadium.

The 49ers fell to 5-9-2 overall (1-4 in the Big West) with their third consecutive loss, extending their winless streak to five straight matches.

Despite being outshot by a 17-12 margin in the match -- including a 13-6 deficit in the second half -- the Titans broke through on the scoreboard first in the 57th minute. Junior Claudia Munoz sent a corner kick into the middle of the box to Fox, who looped it over the goalkeeper through a crowd for her second goal of the season and a 1-0 Fullerton lead.

Long Beach had a golden opportunity to tie the match six minutes later when a foul in the box sent Karina Camacho to the spot for a penalty kick in the 63rd minute, but Santos was up to the task, making one of her five saves on the day (four of those coming in the second half) to keep the Titans up by a goal.

Fullerton then added an insurance strike in the 71st minute as Murillo, who led the team with three shots on the day, found the back of the net for the second time this season, launching a shot from 20 yards out that struck off the near post and into the net for the final 2-0 score.

With the road portion of their schedule behind them, the Titans return home for the final three matches of the regular season beginning on Sunday (Oct. 25) at 1 p.m. as they host New Mexico in a non-conference contest.

Prior to the match, Cal State Fullerton's lone senior Jackie Hovda will be honored as part of "Senior Day" festivities.